“It’s just as important as my last fight and probably just as important as all the ones that are yet to come,” Bonnar said. “It’s do-or-die. That’s how it feels, but that’s how it feels every time I go out there.”
A Hammond, Ind., native who rose to prominence as the runner-up on Season 1 of “The Ultimate Fighter” reality series, Bonnar has not competed since he dropped a unanimous decision to hall of famer Mark Coleman at UFC 100 in July; the defeat was made all the more damaging by Coleman’s lackluster effort against five-time champion Randy Couture at UFC 109 on Feb. 6. Coleman took down Bonnar repeatedly during their three-round bout and cut him with a second-round elbow that turned the tide of the fight.
“It probably wasn’t the best idea to try and land a spinning back kick,” Bonnar said. “I gave him a takedown, and, right off that takedown, he hit me with the elbow that cut me, so there went that round.”
– Stephan Bonnar talks to Sherdog.com about his UFC 110 fight with Krzysztof Soszynski
Bonnar will always be one of those fighters who holds a unique place in MMA for me. Beyond the obvious importance of his fight with Forrest Griffin on the first Ultimate Finale, I was in attendance for his first pro fights at Ironheart Crown 3 in 2001. That night Stephan won a four man tournament with a pair of submissions, including a win in under one minute over the always tough Brian Ebersole. It was the first event that I’d seen live after several years of watching the sport, and absolutely cemented the idea of MMA as the perfect sport for me.
Also on the card a 20 year old Miguel Torres won a 4 man tournament and Shannon Ritch was announced as a surprise competitor only to be submitted in 41 seconds via armbar.
Back to Bonnar…While Dana White has said that Bonnar and Griffin will always have a job in the UFC it is going to be very hard to justify keeping Stephan around if he drops a fight to Soszynski after getting decisioned by Mark Coleman his last time out.